That's Better
by shedoesn'tevengohere
Summary: When Zac Efron unexpectedly arrives at his parents house to visit, it leaves his parents asking some questions about his love life. ZXV fluff! Oneshot possibly two-shot!


_**Hey guys! Happy 2012! I'm really sorry i've been MIA for so long, been really busy with school! I promise I haven't abandoned 'The Efron's' this is just something new I thought of! You should expect to see another episode of 'The Efron's' in early February, after all of my January exams!**_

_**Enjoy! Please review if you want me to make it into a two-shot! Also, I don't own anything but the storyline!**_

Starla Efron walked back into the kitchen of her 5 bedroomed detatched house in San Luis Obispo. She returned back to stirring her stew with a confused look on her face.

"Hey Honey!" came a shout from the hall.

"In the kitchen!" Starla shouted to her husband.

David Efron entered the kitchen and wrapped his arms around his wife, giving her a peck on the cheek.

"How was your day?" Starla asked.

"Well, it was a lot of work, but it's all done now." David replied.

"Good, I'm proud of you." She told him.

"Thanks, isn't Dylan meant to be home from college?" He asked.

"Yeah, he's just gone out with Zac." She replied.

David's face turned to confusion.

"Zac's home?" he asked.

"I know I was confused as you are, he just turned up this morning and told me he was staying for a few days, absolutely no explanation." She told her husband.

"Well, does Zac need to have an excuse to come and stay with his family?" he said.

Starla rolled her eyes "Of course not, it's just a bit odd, I mean he's always so busy and there's no special occasion, Christmas isn't for another two weeks, he's just not himself." She said, sadly.

David embraced her. "Honey, I'm sure everything's fine, he's just been working too hard that's all, needed a break."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right." She sighed

"I always am." He replied, earning a playful slap from Starla.

Suddenly, Starla tore away from his embrace.

"What date is it?" she asked, startled.

David took a few moments to reply. "December 13, Why?"

Realisation in to her son's odd behaviour suddenly set in.

"It's been a year and tomorrow's Vanessa's birthday." She simply said.

David's face softened as he too realised what was wrong.

The front door suddenly opened, revealing the sound of two male voices.

"Dude, I'm telling you that chick was totally coming on to you." Dylan said.

Starla rolled her eyes.

Zac wisely ignored Dylan and they both entered the kitchen.

"Hey Dad." Zac said upon seeing his father.

"Hey Zac." David replied, giving Zac a manly hug. "How are you?"

"I'm alright thanks dad, and yourself?" he said, whilst hugging his mother.

"I'm great, but enough about me, what brings you here?" David asked.

Starla smiled at David, with a knowing look.

"I know why he's here, it's because he's so depressed that his ex-girlfriend has a new boyfriend only a year after they split." Dylan said, entering the conversation.

Zac looked at Dylan with an annoyed expression.

Starla grabbed Zac's hand. "I knew this was about Vanessa, why didn't you say?" she said, looking worried.

"Mom, i'm okay honestly, you don't need me to ramble on about my love life…or lack of it." Zac confessed.

"Zac, we're your parents, that's what we're here for." David said, patting Zac on the shoulder.

"Do you mind if we sit down?" Zac asked as his parents nodded and they walked to the living room.

Zac, Starla, David and Dylan all sat on the couches in the living room, waiting for Zac to speak.

"I really miss her." He said, quietly, but loud enough to be heard.

Starla looked at David, tears threatening to fall. She hated seeing her son in this way. David wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulder.

"Sweetie, I know you do, you can see it in your face, but wasn't it your idea to end things?" Starla carefully asked, knowing how sensitive he was.

Zac simply nodded. "I thought it was for the best at the time, I mean our careers were getting in the way, I thought maybe some time apart might bring us closer." He confessed.

"And it still might." David said. "You've just got to be patient."

"I know, but she's found someone else now, she doesn't want me anymore." Zac said, looking at the floor.

"Bullshit!" Dylan ebruptly said.

"Dylan! Language!" Starla scolded.

"I'm sorry but it's so obvious she doesn't love this Austin guy, she's just using him to get over you, but she's fighting a loosing battle." Dylan said.

Zac took a minute to process what Dylan had said.

"I hate to say it Zac, but I think Dylan's right." Starla said, grabbing Zac's hand.

"Thankyou!" Dylan said, leaning back on the couch.

"I suppose." Zac sighed. "Anyway let's just watch some TV, I haven't come here to mope, I've come to be with my family." Zac said, forcing a smile.

David looked at Zac, unconvinced, but never the less turned on the TV.

The TV illuminated the room, with an unwelcome site; it was High School Musical 2, the kissing scene to be precise.

Starla gasped and tried desperately to change the channel. Zac sat silent.

"I'm sorry Zac, I left it on the movie channel last night." David said sympathetically.

"Dad, it's fine, can we just turn over to E! News? I wanna see if there's any news on 'New Years Eve." Zac said, referring to his new movie.

David nodded and changed the channel.

_Now this is a relationship the whole of Hollywood is talking about. Vanessa Hudgens has been seen getting cosy with new beau Austin Butler this week. This picture of the pair kissing gives evidence that the 'High School Musical' starlet is more than over ex-boyfriend Zac Efron._

Zac grasped the arms of the couch, staring at the screen '_Everywhere I go'_ he thought as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"I'm going on a walk." He said, standing up and slamming the front door behind him.

Silence.

"And on that note, I'm going to play some videogames." Dylan said, breaking the silence as he left the room.

Starla turned to her husband. "What are we going to do? The last time I saw Zac cry was when he fell of his skateboard when he was eight." She said, concerned.

"I think there's only one thing we can do." David said.

"And what would that be?" she asked.

"Call Vanessa."

Vanessa Hudgens was driving to yoga when her phone began to ring. She pulled over and dove into her handbag on the passenger seat. Once she had found the ringing item, she looked confused as the caller ID seemed to show a familiar number from San Luis Obispso.

"Hello?"she said.

"Hey Vanessa, It's Starla." Came the voice from the other end.

"Hey Starla, how are you?" Vanessa asked. She was extremely confused, not because of the caller, she still loved the woman as a second mother, she was just worried about where this call was going.

"I'm okay thanks Vanessa, and yourself?" Vanessa noticed the use of her full name, when she and Zac were dating, Starla always called Vanessa, 'Nessa'.

"I'm great." She replied. "So what's going on?" she dared to ask, something must have been wrong.

"It's Zac." Starla simply said.

Vanessa's heart skipped a beat. What was wrong with Zac? She wouldn't know what to do if anything had happened to Zac.

"Is he okay?" she said, breathlessly.

"Not really, he's a wreck without you." She confessed.

"Really?" Vanessa questioned. "It's been a year today, I thought he'd moved on." She said.

"He can never move on Vanessa, he loves you, he always has and always will, you're the one for him."

Vanessa felt a single tear escape her eyes.

"I'm on my way."

The front door slammed shut, and Zac made his way into the house. He walked into the living room to find his mom, dad and brother watching a film.

Starla took the hint and followed Zac into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry about earlier, I guess I'd just had enough." He confessed.

Starla took Zac into her arms.

"I know it's difficult to see her with another man, it is for me too, but I know you'll get through this." She said whilst stroking his cheek.

"I know I will, I guess my hour long walk let me think a little." Zac said.

"We were starting to worry after a half hour! Where did you go?" she asked.

"The lake, Vanessa used to love taking walks there when we came to visit." He sighed.

Starla just hugged him once more.

"Go and see Dylan, spend some brotherly time together, if anyone can cheer you up it's him." Starla giggled.

"I will, Thanks mom."

Starla impatiently looked at the clock. _She's been almost two hours, better get Zac out of the house for a while._

"Hey Zac?" she called up the stairs.

Zac came marching down the stairs upon hearing his name.

"Yes?" he said.

"Will you run to the store to get me some milk?" she asked.

"Sure mom, how much do you need?" he asked

"Just a small carton." She replied

"Remember to go to Walmart, you know how your mom feels about smaller stores." David said looking up from his newspaper.

"But the nearest Walmart is a half hour drive!" Zac protested.

"Sorry I can't help it that I feel uncomfortable putting milk that I have no clue where it's come from in my coffee!" Starla said.

"Alright, I'll see you guys later then." Zac said in defeat.

The doorbell rang.

Starla almost tripped over the couch, running to the door.

She opened the door to reveal the petite brunette she hadn't seen for almost a year. She hadn't changed a bit, apart from the shoulder length hair she now possessed.

"Hey Starla."

"My sweet girl." Starla said, softly as she took Vanessa into her embrace.

"Hey Vanessa." David said as he embraced the two women.

They all pulled apart as Starla took in Vanessa's appearance.

"You look beautiful." She said, almost in a whisper.

Vanessa blushed. "Thankyou."

The threesome sat down in the living room, much like they had earlier.

"You're still wearing you're ring." Starla said, almost shocked.

Vanessa played with the kuuipo ring on her finger.

"Yeah I always do, when theres not a chance of me being papped of course." She confessed.

Starla began to cry. "So does Zac." She said as she covered her mouth.

"Does your boyfriend not mind?" David asked.

"Austin? No, not really." Was the simple answer she gave.

Vanessa looked over at Starla and pulled her into a hug.

"Please don't cry, you'll set me off." Vanessa admitted.

"We've got you a present." David said bringing out a wrapped gift and handing it to Vanessa.

"Happy 23rd Birthday, for tomorrow." Starla said.

Vanessa looked at the small wrapped gift.

"You guys shouldn't have." Vanessa said, looking lovingly at her second parents.

"We wanted to." Starla said.

"You can open it now if you want, we won't tell your parents." David smiled.

Vanessa tore the wrapping paper off the small box, to reveal the Tiffany logo.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

She flipped open the jewelry box to reveal a gorgeous silver bracelet.

"Oh my goodness, it's beautiful." Vanessa whispered.

"Look closely." David said.

Vanessa looked at the gift more closely and noticed an inscription.

_To Our Daughter,_

_Happy 23rd Birthday,_

_We love you,_

_Starla and David xx_

Vanessa began to cry, desperately trying to wipe her eyes, to avoid ruining her makeup.

Starla pulled Vanessa into her embrace and stroked her head, until she began to feel her shoulder getting wet.

"Now come on Nessa, let's not ruin your makeup." Starla said, wiping Vanessa's eyes.

Vanessa smiled at being called 'Nessa' once more.

"That's better, now I do believe we need to have a chat about my son." Starla said.

"Yeah we do."

Zac browsed through the aisles until finding the milk. This whole 'buying milk' business had taken longer than he had expected, between signing autographs and posing for pictures, Zac was just about ready to go home.

Suddenly the aisle was engulfed by the sound of his phone.

He pulled the iPhone out of his pocket to the sight of a familiar name.

"Hey Ash, what's up?"

The sound of a bawling Ashley Tisdale made Zac take the phone away from his ear for a second. "He's left me." She wailed.

Zac sighed. "I'm sorry Ash, that sucks, I wish I could do more to make you feel better." He said sympathetically.

"Thanks Zac, I now know how you've been feeling for the past year. Love Sucks." She said, calming down a bit.

"Yes it most certainly does." Zac said as he located the milk his mom had asked for.

"Where are you, it's quite noisy." Ashley asked.

"I'm in Walmart back home, mom wants some milk." Zac replied.

"Well I'll let you get back to it, I'm going to drown my sorrows in Ben and Jerry's." She said.

Zac giggled. _Typical Ashley._

"Alright, stay strong Ash." He said as the pair hung up.

"Love does suck." He said to himself once more as he left the shop.

Starla Efron was heartbroken. Watching the woman she loved as her own daughter fall apart in front of her own eyes.

"What am I doing Starla?" Vanessa cried.

What do you mean honey?" Starla said, rubbing Vanessa's back.

"I'll always love Zac, we dated for five years and then threw it all away for our jobs." She sobbed.

" I know sweetie, Zac told me he thought the break up would bring you closer." Starla said.

"I did too." Vanessa said, sniffling.

"Vanessa, if you love Zac, why are you dating Austin?" Starla dared to ask.

"I needed to fill a hole in my heart." Vanessa sighed. "I hadn't been single since I was sixteen, and it wasn't working out for me, I guess I just thought dating someone else would fill that hole." She said.

"And has it?" David asked.

Vanessa shook her head. "No, I realise now the only person that can fill that hole is Zac. I don't love Austin, I don't even think I'm attracted to him."

The room went silent for a minute, before Vanessa's face turned into a look of realization.

"I need to break up with Austin." She said.

Starla and David smiled to each other.

"You can't just break up with him over the phone." Starla said.

Vanessa sighed. "I know."

Vanessa's face lit up. "I can break up with him over facetime!"

Starla giggled. "Okay honey, you can go into the kitchen if you need some privacy."

Vanessa nodded and walked to the kitchen.

She pressed Austin's name on the screen of her phone, waiting for his response.

"Hey babe." Austin said as his face filled the screen of the phone.

"Hey, we need to talk."

Zac opened the front door to his parents house. The traffic had been horrendous on the way back, and frankly, Zac just wanted to go to bed.

"Hey, I'm home!" he called out, before he walked into the living room.

"Hey Zac." Starla said as he handed her the milk. "Thankyou for that, sorry we made you go so far."

Zac was about to rant to his parents about the horrendous traffic and the half hour drive to get milk. That was, until he was met with a sight he never expected to see.

"Hey Zac." The petite brunette said, almost in a whisper.

"Van?" Zac said in disbelief, noticing her tear stained face.

Vanessa said nothing, instead wrapped her arms around his waist.

Zac happily returned the hug and placed a kiss in her hair.

"We'll leave you two alone." David said, practically dragging Starla out of the room.

The pair pulled away from the hug and looked into each others eyes. Brown met blue.

"I've missed you." Zac managed to mutter as he entwined their fingers.

"You will never know how much I've missed you." She replied.

The two stood in comfortable silence for a moment. Both feeling as if they had never left each other.

Suddenly Zac was dragged back to reality and tore his hands from hers. Vanessa looked startled.

"What about Austin?" Zac said, coldly.

"I broke up with him." Zac looked surprised.

"Why?" he asked.

"He wasn't you."

Zac smiled and slowly walked over to her, pulling her into his embrace as he kissed her hair.

Vanessa began to sob into his chest.

"Hey, don't cry." He whispered into her hair.

She pulled back to look into his eyes. "These are happy tears."

"I love you." Zac whispered.

"I love you too, always have, always will." She whispered back

Zac leaned in and their lips met in a passionate kiss, all the passion they had bottled up released once more.

They slowly pulled away, their foreheads remained together.

"Am I a better kisser than Austin?" Zac cheekily asked.

Vanessa gave him a playful slap before wrapping her arms around his neck once more. "Austin doesn't even compare. I love you." She said as she reached to connect their lips once again.

Starla Efron watched from the kitchen, smiling to herself.

"That's Better."

_**Thanks for reading! Review if you want another chapter! **_

_**Xoxox shedoesn'tevengohere**_


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